Little Artist

Not only have we let Ava experiment with photography we have also been playing with paint. Ava has a watercolor set and finger paint. She has enjoyed both. It is fun watching her be creative and learn about color. While finger painting we started teaching her about mixing color (red + yellow = orange). She liked that idea and tried to make colors.

Having a 2 1/2 (almost 3) year old has been so much fun. I love watching her curiously explore the world and seeing her little mind at work. Ava has an abundance of energy and is so enthusiastic about every little thing she learns. She helps me to appreciate and enjoy life.

Finger Painting- Just starting.
Making OrangeWater Colors- Ava painted this paper which we used to wrap one of her friends' birthday presents.

Ava's Pictures

Recently, we gave Ava our old digital camera. It has been fun watching her take pictures and seeing what she comes up with. She loves taking pictures and will go around telling us to smile (even if the picture is not of our face). I have enjoyed sharing my love of photography with her and wonder if we will share this hobby as she continues to grow.
Here are some of her recent pictures.

Sacramento Temple

Mommy at the Temple.Nona at the pumpkin patch.

Daddy in the kitchen.

Mommy exercise with the Xbox Kinect.

Still exercising.

Luca

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we went to Pumpkin Hill Pumpkin Patch in Fair Oaks. This is the third year we have gone and every year we come home happy. The family that runs the place is so nice and give us great deals each year. This year Papa & Nona Kurz came with us and Ava was excited to have them along.

I told Ava earlier in the week we were going to the pumpkin patch and everyday she talked about going to the "pumpkin atch". She told me she wanted to get 2 big orange pumpkins, so when we arrived at pumpkin hill she went straight to the pumpkins. It is funny because I think our ideas of a "big" pumpkin are very different.

After Ava looked over the pre-picked pumpkins we convinced her to ride the tractor out to the pumpkin patch. Of course Ava wanted to sit next to her Nona.Ava plugged her ears during the tractor ride both ways. She really doesn't like loud noises. She enjoyed the ride, but just didn't want to hear the noisy tractor.This is the pumpkin patch we hiked around. Unfortunately it was a hot day and we all (mainly me) melted in the sun. I think we would of spent more time looking around if it wasn't so hot.I had a hard time getting everyone to pay attention to me and smile at the same time. Rich is a good husband and cooperated though.We made the mistake and gave Ava her camera before she looked at the pumpkins. Instead of picking a pumpkin out she just wanted to take pictures. I have to admit it was pretty cute and she had a lot of fun.Me encouraging Ava to pick a pumpkin because it was too hot and we wanted to head back to the shade.

Ava and Rich staying cool in the shade until the tractor left.Ava trying to wheel the pumpkins we picked from the patch.Ava thought she could lift this giant pumpkin.The prize winner pumpkins were on sale for $15-20. We let Ava pick one out, but she picked the smallest one. When we went to pay they only charged us $8 for our prize winner...AWESOME!!

Ava decided she needed to ride the pumpkin like a little princess and wanted Papa & Nona to hold her hands.

Winter Garden

Last weekend we planted our winter garden and picked our homegrown pumpkin. Ava and I went to the nursery during the week and bought broccoli, romanesco, lettuce, peas and strawberries. On Saturday morning Ava was excited to get outside and plant her garden. She has been fascinated with things growing and getting bigger. She talks about how the rain and water will help her garden grow.

First Ava helped daddy turn the soil.
Then Ava helped mommy get the compost to mix into the soil.

This is the first time Ava used her wheelbarrow for working in the garden. She handled it pretty well.

Rich and Ava planting broccoli.Ava planting some lettuce seeds.

Ava was excited to finally pick her pumpkin.
It was the only pumpkin we managed to grow. It seems like every year we get one pumpkin.

I know the lighting is terrible, but I love this picture. If you look closely you can see Ava is trying so hard to pick her pumpkin. I also love that her tongue is sticky out.

Ava with her pumpkin and veggies before we planted them. I know I'm her mom, but Ava is just so darn cute!!

First Rain of the Season

Ava was excited and anticipated the rain all week. She was constantly looking out her bedroom window asking if it was raining yet. When it finally started to rain she couldn't wait to get outside. She ran around the backyard and had a great time. She even went down the slide a few times and came inside with wet pants. It was fun to see the joy on her face and enthusiasm over something as simple as rain. This is just another reason I love Ava. She helps me to enjoy the simple things in life and to see the beauty around me.

Sweet Treats

One morning while in Monterey I went to this little French bakery called Parker-Lusseau Pastries and got two of the most delicious pastries and some yummy little cookies. These pastries were so sweet and wonderful for two reasons. The first is because they tasted so good and are probably the best pastries I've ever had. The second reason is how I came to get them. Here is the story...

Saturday Morning Rich got up early and went to his medical conference. I on the other hand enjoyed the morning and relaxed. When I was ready I decided I needed to get some breakfast. Last time we were in Monterey I wanted to try the Parker-Lusseau bakery, but it was closed. This time I checked their hours and was determined to try it out. So, on this morning I headed out for the 8 block walk to the bakery. It did not take me long to get there and I was excited when I saw the pastry display. I picked the almond crescent and then debated if I should get anything else. The brioche looked so good I just had to have it and of course I had to sample the shortbread cookies. The owner was friendly and bag my goodies with a smile. As she told me the amount I owed I pulled out my credit card and I heard her say, "we only take cash or check." My heart sunk as I told her I didn't have either with me. I explained my situation and that all my cash was back at the hotel. Seeing that I was flustered and unsure what to do the kind lady had compassion on me. She let me take the pastries back to the hotel with an IOU. I couldn't believe it and was so grateful for her kindness. I walked back to the hotel and indulged myself. I wasn't a complete pig and saved some to share with Rich. When he was done with is conference we immediately drove to the bakery and I paid my debt.

This was such a wonderful experience. I don't know many people that would trust a stranger to come back and pay the IOU. It taught me a good lesson to have more faith in the kindness of others and also to be willing to extend compassion towards others. So, if you are ever in Monterey, CA I would encourage you to stop by the Parker-Lusseau bakery. Not only are their pastries amazing the people that work there are too. I plan to go back again and again to show my appreciation and support a good business. Plus, I have been dreaming about these pastries and just looking at the pictures I start to drool.

Almond CrescentBrioche with vanilla bean custard

Weekend Alone

During the first weekend in October Rich and I went to Monterey alone. Rich had a medical conference and I tagged along. We were grateful that my parents were able to watch Ava, so we could have this time together. We know she had a great time with them and we had a great time dating again.

This is the view of the ocean from our hotel room. Not too exciting, but I still liked waking up and looking out the window to see the wharf.

This is the other view from our hotel room. It is downtown Monterey. Just a block or so away at night we could see and hear the music from a bar/club. Both nights we were there the music started at 11pm and didn't end until 2am. It was terrible and we did not sleep well. That was the only bad part about the weekend.

We have been to Monterey so many times and walked around the wharf area, but have never seen these bocce ball courts until this visit. We wish we knew they were there so we could have brought our bocce ball set.

One day we went to the aquarium. We were excited to see another Great White they had on display. We were lucky to get this shot of the shark. It only came to the front of the glass for about a minute and then stayed to the back of the tank where it was hard to see him.My favorite of course are the Sea Turtles.I also really like the Mula Mula Fish or Ocean Sunfish. They are so ugly, but cool at the same time.

Go Ava Go!

Ava loves her tricycle she got for her birthday (last January). The last couple months she started pedaling by herself and now she is really fast. Now she just needs to learn how to steer.

Home Invasion

We found this praying mantis in our home two nights in a row. For some reason it really wanted to hang out with us. The first night Rich caught it and put it outside, but somehow it appeared in our family room the next night. Rich caught it again and put it farther away from our door on some plants. The next morning I did not find it in the house, but it was clinging to the screen on our kitchen window. It stayed there for a couple days, but then disappeared. We're not sure what it wanted inside our house, but we found it amusing.